This refers to information provided to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) on February 10, 1999, by two former employees of Crane Nuclear,
Inc., at the American Electric Power Company's (AEP) D.C. Cook Nuclear
Power Plant. According to the individuals, the Crane Nuclear project manager
terminated their employment after they questioned the adequacy of a maintenance
work package for a pump in the Unit 2 containment annulus. The NRC Office
of Investigations (OI) investigated this matter and a summary of the OI
investigation was provided to AEP on June 1, 2001. On July 24, 2001, a
predecisional enforcement conference was held in the NRC Region III office.(1)

Based on the OI investigation and all other information, the NRC determined
that a violation of 10 CFR 50.7, "Employee Protection" occurred.(2)
The violation is fully described in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice).
Specifically, on February 10, 1999, two pump mechanics, employed by Crane
Nuclear, were assigned to perform maintenance on a pump in the annulus
of Unit 2 at the D.C. Cook Plant. The mechanics requested that
the work package be revised to include detailed instructions for performing
the job. The concern was brought to the attention of the Crane Nuclear
project manager, who stated the work could be performed using "skill of
the craft." The mechanics refused to perform the work because they reasonably
believed that performing the work without detailed procedures would violate
NRC regulations. The project manager terminated the employment of the
two pump mechanics for refusing to work the package as written. In terminating
the employment of the mechanics, the project manager changed the compensation,
terms, conditions, or privileges of their employment on February 10,
1999, in violation of 10 CFR 50.7. The NRC concluded that the
project manager's actions were not in deliberate violation of requirements
because he believed that the work to be within the "skill of the craft"
and that the pump mechanics were essentially being insubordinate. The
project manager was considered to be a low-level manager within the Crane
Nuclear organization. Therefore, the violation has been categorized in
accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC
Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, (Enforcement Policy) at Severity Level III.

In determining the enforcement action for this violation, the NRC considered
that the Crane Nuclear project manager notified Cook Plant management
shortly after the violation occurred. At about the same time, the pump
mechanics met with the NRC Resident Inspector at the Cook Plant and the
NRC also notified plant management of the terminations. These notifications
allowed Cook Plant management to begin an investigation and to contact
the management of Crane Nuclear. As a result, the Cook Plant Employee
Concerns Program began an investigation on February 10, 1999, and
a representative of Crane Nuclear arrived on site the following day to
begin an investigation for their company. Corrective actions by Crane
Nuclear, Inc., included, but were not limited to: taking disciplinary
action against the Crane Nuclear project manager; offering job reinstatement
to the pump mechanics; meeting with employees to emphasize that retaliation,
harassment or discrimination would not be tolerated for raising safety
concerns; meeting with supervisors to delineate their roles; and updating
and improving the internal complainant system. The actions of the Crane
Nuclear project manager were not in deliberate violation of NRC requirements.
After consulting with the Director, Office of Enforcement, I have been
authorized to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation in this matter. No
response to the Notice is required.

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violation,
the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and
prevent recurrence are already adequately addressed, as described above.
However, you are required to submit a written statement or explanation
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the above description does not accurately
reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if
you choose to respond, clearly mark your response as a "Reply to a Notice
of Violation, EA-01-073," and follow the directions in the enclosed Notice.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy
of this letter and the enclosed Notice will be made available electronically
for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly
Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS
is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public NRC Library).

Sincerely,

/RA/

J. E. Dyer
Regional Administrator

Docket Nos. 50-315; 50-316
License Nos. DPR-58; DPR-74

Enclosure: Notice of Violation

cc w/encl:

M. Denis, Esq.
Barlow, Kobata & Denis

A. C. Bakken III,
Senior Vice President, AEP

J. Pollock, Plant Manager, AEP

M. Rencheck, Vice President, AEP

J. P. Hickey, Shaw Pitman

R. Whale, Michigan Public Service Commission

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Emergency Management Division
MI Department of State Police

D. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists

NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Crane Nuclear, Inc.
Kennesaw, GA

Docket Nos. 50-315; 50-316
License Nos. DPR-58; DPR-74
EA-01-073

During an NRC investigation, completed November 30, 2000, a violation
of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement
of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, the
violation is listed below:

10 CFR 50.7(a) prohibits, in part,
discrimination by a contractor of a Commission licensee against an employee
for engaging in certain protected activities. Discrimination includes
discharge and other actions that relate to compensation, terms, conditions
or privileges of employment. The protected activities were established
in Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and
in general are related to the administration or enforcement of a requirement
imposed under the Atomic Energy Act or the Energy Reorganization Act.

Contrary to the above, Crane Nuclear
Inc. discriminated against two pump mechanics at the D.C. Cook Nuclear
Power Station for engaging in protected activities. Protected activities
include refusing to perform work if the employee reasonably believes that
performing the work would violate NRC requirements. Specifically, on February 10,
1999, two pump mechanics requested that a work package be revised to include
more detailed instructions for performing the job. The concern was brought
to the attention of the Crane Nuclear project manager, who stated the
work could be performed using "skill of the craft." The mechanics refused
to perform the work because they reasonably believed that performing the
work without detailed procedures would violate NRC regulations. The project
manager terminated the employment of the two pump mechanics for refusing
to work the package without revision. The termination was a change in
the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of the mechanics' employment.

This is a Severity Level III violation
(Supplement VII).

The NRC has concluded that information regarding
the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken and planned
to correct the violation and prevent recurrence are already adequately
addressed in the letter forwarding this Notice of Violation (Notice).
However, you are required to submit a written statement or explanation
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description therein does not
accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case,
or if you choose to respond, clearly mark your response as a "Reply to
a Notice of Violation," and send it to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555 with a copy
to the Regional Administrator, Region III, and a copy to the NRC Resident
Inspector at the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant, within 30 days of the
date of the letter transmitting this Notice.

If you contest this enforcement action,
you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your
denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

If you choose to respond, your response will be made available electronically
for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly
Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS
is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public NRC Library). Therefore, to the extent possible,
the response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or
safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public
without redaction.

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may
be required to post this Notice within two working days.

Dated this 17th day of January
2002.

1.
Additional information
was submitted to the NRC following the July 24, 2001, predecisional enforcement
conference, including: an undated letter from one of the pump mechanics,
letters dated July 27 and September 28, 2001, from AEP, and letters dated
August 23, and October 29, 2001, from Crane Nuclear, Inc.

2.
One employee also
filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL Administrative
Law Judge (ALJ) issued a Recommended Decision and Order (RD&O) on
October 4, 2001, in favor of the employee (DOL No. 2001-ERA-0003).
The NRC reached its conclusions independent of the RD&O.